Tag: Coaching

Librarian Turns In Card for Booking Speaking Gigs

What It’s About

A librarian books gigs as a presentation skills coach.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Don’t forget the importance of pricing when it comes to your service or product. Keep adjusting as needed to find what works best to attract your target audience.

Fun Fact

Up Front Communication is not the first side hustle Lauren has had. She is also a semi-professional belly dancer and has danced in restaurants around her city for years.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1064

For many years, Lauren Sergy worked as a Librarian at a Library Consortium in Canada. In her role, she coordinated conferences, organized slide decks for the CEO, and ran training programs. During these programs, she’d often be asked to give presentations to a variety of audiences. While training presentations can often put their listeners to sleep faster than reading the dictionary, Lauren’s presentations were different.

People would approach her after she spoke and ask her to present at their conferences. But they didn’t want to hear her speak about library databases, they wanted her to teach them how to present.

With a background in acting and radio announcing, it’s not surprising Lauren excelled at speaking to a crowd. And she was happy to share her knowledge and support others in improving their skills. However, the more requests she got, the more she realized that she could add to her financial bookshelf by offering her knowledge to others in exchange for a fee.

To start, she made a free posting on Kijiji—Canada’s version of Craigslist. She positioned herself as a speaking and presentation skills coach, and within two weeks she had received her first paid client. From there, the requests slowly started rolling in.

Gaining clients and being compensated for sharing her knowledge helped Lauren to boost her confidence. She began to wonder, “What if I could get paid for giving presentations on how to give presentations?” Based on the number of requests she’d received, she suspected there was a real demand—so she decided to give the idea a try.

She created a website under her name, Lauren Sergy, (her only real startup cost), and positioned herself as a professional speaker who specialized in presentations. From there, she started reaching out to all the Rotary Clubs in her city to build up her experience. She also told every single person she knew about her new business. Her hard work paid off, and her first speaking gigs came from word-of-mouth recommendations.

It’s not just her number of clients that has increased—the number in her bank account has also gone up. Within the first couple of years, she had earned $10,000 from coaching and paid speaking opportunities, and that number seemed poised to rise. However, she was still working as a librarian, as well as raising children at home, and was starting to feel burned out.

Looking back, Lauren is grateful that she saved her side hustle income so she could smoothly transition after her job loss occurred. Having a side hustle also supported her during two maternity leaves with little change to her family’s lifestyle, and has allowed her husband to become a stay-at-home dad.

She recommends that anyone starting a side hustle remain flexible. By leaving herself open to work with different types of clients, she’s been able to custom tailor her services based on their input. She’s also determined to keep things simple, and not worry too much about getting everything perfect.

Those qualities have allowed Lauren to now bring in a steady yearly income. Looking forward, her goal is to improve her systems to become more efficient.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Don’t be afraid to test different prices or services. Put something out there and gather feedback and adjust as necessary. As you gain more experience you can increase your prices to reflect your expertise."
—Lauren Sergy #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Divorce Leads Banker To Boudoir Photography Empire

What It’s About

A single mom and former banker reinvents herself with a photographic focus.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Taking time to think about pricing and goal setting is extremely valuable. Here’s what Tanya suggests: “Do your numbers! You don’t have to do a crazy complicated spreadsheet, but have some goals as to what you want to make and how you will get there.”

Fun Fact

As a firm believer that she didn’t need to heavily invest in her studio props and furniture, Tanya has gotten creative over the years. Recently, she found a pair of Victoria’s Secret angel-esque wings that she wanted … for $3,000! Instead, she went back to her DIY roots, ordering $500 worth of ostrich feathers from Amazon and making them herself.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1035

Tanya Smith found her side hustle as a boudoir photographer in the midst of a divorce. Prior to having children, she worked in the corporate banking world. While this gave her stability, it also stripped her of the freedom she wanted when it came to being there for her kids.

When she quit her job to raise her children, she pursued art in a few different mediums. As a mixed media artist selling paintings at art shows, she began playing around with the DSLR camera she had bought after the birth of her first child. She would take photos of anything she could, and sell prints alongside her paintings.

For years, she combined these two passions as both a hobby and a way to make extra money. Finding herself newly separated after 20 years of marriage and two kids, Tanya felt lost. As a woman, she had struggled being able to view herself as anything other than a mother. With her pending divorce, she was pushed into a new life chapter that required her to find a way to support herself… and she didn’t want to go back to banking.

The first inspiration was personal. Stumbling upon an ad for boudoir photos, she was intrigued. She said yes because she thought it was something that could be good for her while she transitioned to a new time of life. She walked away from her session with a renewed sense of confidence.

Tanya quickly saw the opportunities waiting in boudoir photography as a business. She already had the characteristics that would make someone want to hire her: she was trustworthy, knew her way around a camera, and was able to put herself in the shoes of her ideal clients.

Since she already had a camera and would only shoot “on location,” meaning either in her clients’ homes or in her own bedroom, it didn’t take much to begin. She committed to keeping her initial investments to a bare minimum, only spending money on things she absolutely needed. Her marketing plan was low-maintenance, including a Facebook business page and a free website (tanyalsmith.com).

Tanya did her first three shoots for free before deciding on a price—though one chosen arbitrarily. Her first real client paid her $382, a price she was over the moon about. In fact, she went home and cried out of happiness.

She went back to her experience in corporate banking and began crunching numbers, to figure out how much she would need to make this side hustle profitable. She decided how much she wanted to work each week and how many weeks she wanted to work per year. Then, she came up with how much money she needed to net each year, giving her the average sale per client that she would need.

With those numbers, she knew how many photoshoots she would need to book, helping her create packages at various tiers. She made her target average sale her middle, and most attractive package. Having these packages in place, her three-year side hustle became her full-time job.

Today, Tanya’s business is bringing in a profit in the mid-six-figures. With her average sale being $5,000, she’s able to work less than ever while making more than ever. Her pricing reflects the luxury experience she gives women—including a styling consultation, use of her studio and wardrobe, in-house hair and makeup, and an in-person sales session.

Though none of this happened overnight, she’s proud to look back on how far she has come.

What’s next for Tanya? Helping photographers like her who are dreaming big on their side hustles. With an educational course and podcast, she’ll be teaching students the exact way she built this business for herself. Her journey taught her a lot at a slow and steady pace. With her own course, she’s hoping to help others take the quicker route to success.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • tanyalsmith.com: Learn more about Tanya and her boudoir photgraphy at her website and follow her on Instagram.
  • Free profit calculator for photographers: Tanya provided this free calculator for photographers to figure out what they need their average sale to be to be profitable. (please note an email sign-up is required to accees the calculator)

 

SEE ALSO:

Brooklyn Photographer Gets Paid to Throw Confetti at People:

    A former graphic designer turns a personal thirty-day challenge into a growing photography brand.
  • Famous iPhone Photo Leads to Series of Online Courses: A 365-day photo project transitions to a hustle teaching small business owners how to create videos using their smartphones.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"I’ve been able to show my kids that they can run their own business if they are interested in that, and that they can learn how to do anything if they put their minds to it."
—Tanya Smith #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Medical Emergency Inspires $90,000/Month Consulting Business

What It’s About

A systems-driven business to help aspiring graduates get jobs in management consulting.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Davis encourages other side hustlers to focus on one important thing: “You just need to quickly find people who are willing to pay for what you are offering. Nothing else matters. Not a name (we didn’t have one for 11 months), not a website (didn’t have one for 11 months), or a logo (we still don’t have one).”

Fun Fact

While playing poker in college, Davis made it a goal to save up enough money to pay for his first WDS in 2014. It paid for his ticket, flight, hotel, food and even a small vacation in Portland before WDS started.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1033

Davis Ngyuen grew up in a poor community in the southside of Atlanta, where 1 in 5 people live in poverty. The high school he attended actually lost its national accreditation. Thankfully for Davis, Yale University didn’t care and still offered him a scholarship.

The campus had a large poker culture, with plenty of events and underground games. Eager to earn money, Davis learned to play. It turned out he had an aptitude for it. On a good month, he would play about two full days, spending around 8-10 hours per day at the table. He split the money he made with his parents.

But this story isn’t about playing poker for money.

After graduation, Davis moved to San Francisco, where he first did a stint in management consulting, and then took a job as VP of Operations for an educational startup. Busy with extracurricular projects since those college poker days, he produced a series of workshops on the side, so he would never have to rely on one income stream.

It wasn’t a bad life—until a call from his parents changed everything.

One of them needed emergency surgery, with medical costs estimated to top out at $20,000. Plus, they needed the money soon.

Davis sat down and tried to think about how he could make that much money fast. His workshops were focused on helping Silicon Valley executives to improve their public speaking, so they could better pitch meetings and funding opportunities. But this wouldn’t be a fast source for cash.

Going deeper, Davis recalled conversations he had again and again when he moved to California to take the management consultant job at a prestigious firm. Everyone wanted to know how he did it.

So with the urgent medical bills in mind, he decided his new hustle was to offer coaching for job interviews in consulting.

The idea was promising, but he didn’t even have a website or email list. Instead, he jumped on a Consulting Sub-Reddit and offered his advice in a free AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread for people who were trying to do what he had done. That first thread was titled: “Recruiting for Consulting? Post here for recruitment advice, resume reviews, questions about offers/firms or general insecurity.”

The goal was not to sell services directly. Instead, he poured his experience and knowledge into the replies. If people wanted one-on-one, off-thread conversation, then he invited them to set up a consultation with him on the Zoom web-conferencing app. Startup costs were just $20 for that Zoom membership.

He worked twelve hours straight over the first weekend hunting for clients and hosting calls, having no idea if it would pay off. Ultimately, he gained his first thirteen clients off that Reddit thread.

The next weekend, he did much the same thing, and then the next as well. It was stressful working long days during the week for his day job, and then pouring weekend hours into his side hustle. The thought of his family kept him motivated—and the money coming in was rewarding—but the greater problem was that Davis was burning out fast.

He began making some bigger changes. He switched to more of an agency model, where clients are asked to pay a bit upfront, but it’s not until they actually get the job that they have to pay the rest. The sum is less than 5% of what they earn in their first year at high-paying jobs … but of course, that’s still a substantial amount.

After just one year, My Consulting Offer had grown to $10,000 per month with Davis as the only coach. That’s when he quit his full-time job, as it was obvious he was really onto something.

These days, Davis does no coaching. Instead, he works directly with top-tier schools and events, and refers all the new business back to his agency’s sales group. From there, his team handles the entire process from initial inquiry straight through to the celebrations when they land their dream job. The average success rate of getting a job in management in consulting is less than 2%, but for those who go through Davis’s process, the rate is more than 80%!

In 2019, just over two years after that 12-hour weekend sprint of desperately trying to hustle coaching calls on Reddit, Davis’s revenue reached $90,000 per month.

In a short period of time, he’s come a long way from his poker days as a student at Yale.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • My Consulting Offer Learn more about Davis’s service at his website.
  • Reddit The online community Davis used to first offer his services. Davis knew this might be a good place to start to find his target audience. Note: we don’t recommend this platform for anyone unfamiliar with it.
  • Zoom Host online video meetings/calls, webinars, and more.

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"The key to life is to help others. I always think, how can I be a better son for my Mom, a better brother for my little brother, and a better role model for those who I am lucky enough to cross paths with. "
—Davis Nguyen #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

High School Teacher Starts Baseball Pitching Academy

What It’s About

Root for this teacher who starts not one, not two, but three Baseball hustles.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Follow your passion, learn what people need, and find out how to merge both of those.

Fun Fact

In the summer of 2010 and 2011, Mike was the pitching coach for the Stark County Terriers of the Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball League. During that time, he coached five pitchers who have gone on to play professional baseball.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1005

In 2006, Mike Grady was coaching college baseball while working as a loan officer. A parent asked if he would be willing to teach his 8-year-old son to pitch. When he accepted the offer, he saw how the right coaching could improve a young pitcher’s skills … and how it could put extra money in his pocket.

He decided to see if he could coach anyone else … and he took an old-school approach to finding clients. He made up a simple flyer that he posted at the gym, on announcement boards at baseball fields, and anywhere the parents of baseball playing kids might be.

Even in this always-connected world, when it comes to parents making decisions about their kids, they still rely on other parents to make recommendations. That’s how Grady’s Pitching School came to be. It offers private instruction, team sessions, and off-season training programs. But this was only the start of Mike’s baseball dynasty.

Then came phase two. A few years ago, the parent of two of the pitching school’s students approached Mike about opening a training facility of his own as a partnership. By that time, Mike was working with nearly 100 students, some of whom drove two hours to their lessons. A dedicated training facility in a central location seemed like an obvious next step.

That facility, Velocity Sports, is a separate business from Grady’s Pitching School. It’s allowed Mike to hire additional instructors to help run the programs. People can also buy memberships to the facility which allows them to use the equipment to train on their own. Oh, and that’s not all—it can be rented out for birthday parties. Why not?

And wait … there are still more innings left in this story.

For his third baseball-related side hustle, Mike now sells a set of a soft-shell balls pitchers use for training. He used to buy them for his students and realized how big the markup was. So naturally, he found a seller on Alibaba that could make a similar product which allowed him to have input into the design.

Mike clearly has a lot on his home plate. In addition to his three side hustles, he now works as a full-time teacher. He also has a wife and two young children. To make time for work and family, he’s learned to automate as many processes as possible. There is an online scheduling system for his pitching clients to book their lessons and he is even able to automate grading at school. If he had to grade by hand, he simply wouldn’t have time.

He’s come a long way from the days of leaving his phone number on those flyers. Now instead of calling him to ask questions, parents can go to his website and get all of the information they need. Mike is in an enviable position. The businesses continue to grow and he loves teaching high school … so he’s going to keep pitching doubleheaders for as long as he can.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today! Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time. Learn More

Quote of the Day
"These projects have changed my life. I love baseball, and I love teaching. By doing this I get to do both and I get to be around others who share that same passion."
—Mike Grady #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Foreign Correspondent Launches Career App

What It’s About

Journalist creates an app empowering women to combat the gender pay gap.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Meggie has some great encouragement for anyone seeking a side hustle idea, “Think about what can you do that no one else in your family can do. What makes you unusual and awesome? Then lean into that and work out who can pay for it.”

Fun Fact

Meggie’s first client from her first side hustle as a media training consultant is still a client today, with her media training agency.

Notes from Chris

Episode 987

As a foreign correspondent and journalist, Meggie Palmer knew about the hardships people face around the world. Working for outlets like BBC News, the Discovery Channel and more, she could be in Syria one week and in Zimbabwe the next.

While the breakneck speed and globe-trotting adventures were exactly what she wanted for a lifestyle, Meggie soon realized that journalism as a career would not lead to the freedom and financial stability she also craved.

Her first look at something different came when she appeared on a panel for how executives and marketers can work with journalists. A rep from one of the companies attending came up for her after the discussion and asked if she ever offered media training directly.

Though she had never done such a thing, she had put in a fair amount of thinking and research before appearing on the panel. Maybe she could use it to her advantage elsewhere? She decided on the spot to say yes.

Her first private training went so well that word spread, as media training from an award-winning journalist was an experience many companies craved.

So Meggie continued to build up clients and training programs, fitting them in around her travel and research schedule. Since the only real costs were her time and intellectual property, the business had minimal overhead to start. A few hundred dollars into materials and a website, and she was able to start stockpiling the profits.

Meggie realized that her mission to get more women on media programs and into e-suites would never work if she was constantly the one who had to provide the training, support, and encouragement. It just didn’t scale.

One night, while talking with a friend about how people can feel disempowered when they don’t know how to advocate for themselves, she commented on how great it would be if she could offer everyone a “career coach in their pocket.”

Within two months, she had a minimum viable product, an app that would allow users to input their own milestones and successes for reference when negotiating new salaries or promotions — or to add to their resumes and bios when attempting to garner more media and attention for their accomplishments. She called it Pep TalkHer.

Within the first 6 months of the app going live, it had already been downloaded by a few thousand users. A partnership with Vogue Australia allowed her to build a new email list of more than 15,000 interested people.

The side hustle that got her out of her full-time gig is now the full-time gig that led to her new side hustle. This project will not only make money for her, but also fulfill her greater mission to help women stand up for themselves.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Surround yourself with a support crew, because it can be very lonely. That can be really painful. To me, having a crew of other people that have their own businesses around me that I can message or text has been a godsend."
—Meggie Palmer #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Cuban Journalist Teaches Everyday Spanish Classes

What It’s About

Spanish teacher double dips his classes for extra profits—muy bien!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Nibaldo says that you should stand out from the crowd! According to him, “Spanish teachers need to put more fun into their classes. There is nothing wrong with being a fun teacher. In my private lessons, workshops and seminars I use a lot of humor and phrases my students can use in real contexts. I believe humor can improve retention in students of all ages.”

Fun Fact

Before the 1980s, all Cubans who reached American soil were welcomed as political refugees. This has changed in recent times—now 20,000 Cubans immigrate to the United States every year by being provided a United States visa.

Notes from Chris

Episode 962
Nibaldo Buides was forty years old when he relocated from Cuba to the United States. Like many others from his home country, he dreamed of building a better life for himself in “the Land of the Free.”

While life was indeed better in lots of ways in America, that doesn’t mean it was easy. In fact, for Nibaldo and his wife, things were quite difficult. You see, in Cuba, Nibaldo had extensive qualifications. With a bachelor’s degree in economics and a journalism degree, you might think he’d easily land a job for a top, national paper. After all, in his home country that’s exactly what he did—he worked as a journalist.

But alas, in America there was no journalism job waiting for him. Nibaldo’s qualifications weren’t recognized and, making things even more difficult, was that he couldn’t speak English very well at all. Capitalism and a free market are what helped America prosper, but at that point in time, it was no friend of his.

So, although he was happy to have made it to America, for the first two and a half years in the country, he took low-level jobs at factories and cleaning restrooms in shopping malls to make ends meet.

But, anyone who can make it from Cuba to America is no slouch. Nibaldo had gumption, ambition, or what Spanish speakers might call gusto!

He determined to work hard and improve his English in the hopes of getting a better job. He turned to YouTube lessons and books to teach himself. Over time he improved, and soon his English was good enough that he was confident to pursue a better job—one that would finally get him out of cleaning floors.

It was Nibaldo’s wife who suggested he try looking for a job teaching Spanish. He was outgoing, personable, and could break down complex topics into memorable lessons. She was convinced he’d love it and, now that he could speak both Spanish and English, he was a prime candidate for exactly that role.

So, in 2015, four years after arriving in the country, he began looking for a job as a Spanish teacher. He applied for a position at a private school, and as fate would have it, he got it! Thrilled with this new career path, Nibaldo worked to become the best teacher he could be.

Unfortunately, the job didn’t pay as well as he’d hoped. So, he soon began thinking of ways to make some extra money on the side. He was now in the USA after all, where entrepreneurial activities were more feasible than in Cuba.

For a side hustle, Nibaldo thought he’d try an extension of his day job. He figured he could find a few students and teach Spanish classes online or at night.

In an effort to acquire more students, Nibaldo soon began posting videos on Instagram. For that, he had to come up with a catchy username. He decided on Spanish for Everyday, which ultimately became the name of his new side hustle.

While education was the primary focus of his video lessons, Nibaldo also injected a bit of humor into them as well. To him, teaching doesn’t have to be boring in order to be effective, so he comes up with funny phrases to use in his videos. He also dresses in silly outfits to help with student retention—he attributes this as an important way for him to stand out from the crowd.

Just eight months after his first customer, Nibaldo was already earning $1,000/month from his Spanish teaching side hustle, and that figure hasn’t dropped since.

For an immigrant from Cuba, the money is life-changing. It affords him the ability to buy several luxuries he otherwise couldn’t dream of. But, perhaps, more importantly, it allows him to send some money back to Cuba to improve the lives of his family back home.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Spanish for Everyday: Brush up on your Spanish prepositions and conjugates over on Nibaldo’s website!
  • Squarespace: The website building platform that Nibaldo used to create his website

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Quote of the Day
"When you’re getting started, show others your work! Use Instagram or YouTube—anywhere that will allow you to post free videos so that potential students can see it and become interested in your classes."
—Nibaldo Buides #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.
Get it Here

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Blogger Earns $140,000 from Beta Phase of Online Course

What It’s About

A real estate investor devotes years of effort to her first course—and it pays off.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

If you want to achieve similar success, Paula says that you should create a blog or podcast, develop an audience, and pay attention to the questions that you receive. Also, only create a product if you’re passionate about it since you have to talk and write about this topic daily. As she put it, “If your heart isn’t it in, then discussing it daily will be a drag.”

Fun Fact

When she started, Paula saved money from her day job and bought a triplex—a building with three units. She moved into one of the units and rented out the other two which essentially allowed her to live for free with zero out-of-pocket housing costs. She kept saving money, reinvesting as much as possible into her fledgling real estate business. Paula bought another house. And another. Then another. And another. Soon, the flywheel started spinning!

Now, Paula has built a business that generates profits while she sleeps.

Notes from Chris

Episode 961

Paula Pant got into real estate investing in 2011 when the housing market was just beginning to rebound after a recession. She turned out to be great at it. By the time she turned 34, she and her husband owned eight investment properties. They did this without starting with a lot of capital.

She shared a lot of what she learned on her blog and podcast, Afford Anything, becoming a well-respected voice in the worlds of smart money management, self-improvement, and real estate investing. Her email list grew steadily over the years. 1,000. 10,000, 50,000 and more.

Readers loved Paula because she had a down-to-earth philosophy behind everything she did: you can afford anything, but not everything, so make your choices with intention and thoughtfulness. I began following her myself at some point and really appreciated her thoughtful and detailed blog.

The only downside of her growing community was the many email questions she received—they were endless. She loved empowering people to take control of their finances and lifestyles, but she needed to find a way to offer more expertise in less time.

The clear way forward was to create a course, filled with all the things she’d learned over the years, so in 2015, Paula began planning that course called Your First Rental Property. She figured it’d take 6-8 months to create it. Little did she know, her estimate was off by over two years.

She had built rapport with her audience over the years with her thoughtful, thorough content. They trusted her to deliver her best, and she knew she’d be able to find people willing to pay to get her course materials as they were released, rather than all at once.

So in March of 2016 when she announced on social media that she was currently building a course, she sold all 50 beta seats in just four minutes—at about $500 per seat.

In September of 2018, Paula uploaded her final video. The course was almost complete—she just needed a second round of beta testers to go through the course in chronological order, rather than as videos were released. So she opened up another beta round, gaining over 100 new students at $750 each.

Between the beta rounds, before a single official launch, Paula earned over $140,000.

Over three years after she began working on it, Paula finally opened the Your First Rental Property Course in April of 2019. There was no big sales page, no complex launch strategy. She wrote a single blog post and spent $16,000 in Facebook ads to get the word out to her fans, but that was it. Over 200 people signed up at the course’s full price of $997 per person, bringing in around $200,000 in net income now that development expenses were covered.

After one week, Paula closed the doors to her course. She’s investing time into her current students, and also overseeing even more improvements before her next bi-annual launch in September.

She’s loved the challenge of creating a course she’s proud of, but it’s not the work itself that’s been the most rewarding part—she says she’s seen students avoid making huge, six-figure mistakes, which is what happens when you buy the wrong rental property. Saving someone from that type of life-altering mistake is incredibly gratifying.

There’s no doubt her hard work has been worth it!

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Afford Anything: Learn more about how Paula helps others “afford anything” over on her blog!
  • WordPress: Paula used WordPress to set up her site, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Quote of the Day
"I’m proud that I put three years into making this something truly valuable. It’s always better to create ONE thing that’s amazing than to half-bake a bunch of mediocre things."
—Paula Pant #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Organizing Closets Leads to Organizer Education

What It’s About

Professional organizer helps others clean up!

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Melisa’s advice to anyone in a place of change is to ask yourself, “What do I want, and what will make me more fulfilled?” From there, write down what comes up for you and see where you can make changes to align with that. Melisa enjoyed organizing homes and after doing it for several years, discovered that she enjoys empowering others more than doing the physical work herself.

Fun Fact

Believe it or not, Melisa grew up in a hoarding household. Her dad grew up very poor and, while he is well-off now, has a hard time letting go of things. She took the opposite approach of how she grew up and turned it into a profitable side hustle.

Notes from Chris

Episode 958

Long before the Konmari method of organizing was popular, Melisa Celikel was using her own method for organizing homes on the side for family and friends. After reading The $100 Startup, Melisa saw that she could turn this into a side hustle and make money from it. She made a website through Wix and set up an LLC from LegalZoom. From there, she started Let’s Get You Organized.

At the time Melisa was working long hours for a Forbes 100 company and only had time for one or two clients on the weekends. Charging as little as twenty dollars an hour, she enjoyed the process of helping others declutter and purge of things that no longer served them. It was rewarding to support people in this way. She knew what it was like to grow up in a home of clutter and wanted to create space and freedom for others. As the years went by, Melisa found her clientele expand more from busy moms to divorcees and shop-a-holics.

While Melisa loved serving her clients and supporting them directly, she was becoming emotionally and physically drained. She would spend an average of four hours at each home talking through which items to let go of, and use a lot of physical womanpower lifting and moving heavy items.

She was also feeling the burnout from working long hours at that day job. While she was making a good salary, she felt the need to reorganize her own life. She began to evaluate what she liked about both her job and her side hustle, making note of how she could combine skills from both to create something of her own. From there she began to declutter her own business and organize it into a full-time endeavor.

Melisa got creative and developed a four-week Professional Organizer Mentorship Program for women wanting to get into the decluttering world. After all, she herself had learned the value in creating something that earns extra income for you while also making a difference for others—so she also knew that there was value in teaching her skills to other women.

Making this change from being the organizer to being the mentor created new sources of income for Melisa, and raised her profit margin. In 2018 she profited $15,000 from the change and is on track to doubling that number in 2019.

Melisa’s advice to anyone in a place of change is to ask yourself, “What do I want and what will make me more fulfilled?” From there, write down what comes up for you and see where you can make changes to align with that. Melisa enjoyed organizing homes and after doing it for several years, discovered that she enjoys empowering others more than doing the physical work herself. And through that transition, she was able to quit her day job and launch her own business utilizing her strengths in consulting and organizing.

In the future, she hopes to expand her Let’s Get Organized mentorship program to empower even more women to become professional organizers and learn the value of being compensated from running their own side hustle or business.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Let’s Get You Organized: Clean up your act—head on over to Melisa’s website to learn more about this side hustle!
  • Wix: The online website building platform that Melisa used to set up her website for Let’s Get You Organized

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

Quote of the Day
"If you find yourself in the middle of a crossroads or pivot point, ask yourself, ‘What do I want, and what will make me more fulfilled?’ Write down what comes up for you and see where you can make changes to align with that."
—Melisa Celikel #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Sports Writer Wins Big Gambling On His Own Book

What It’s About

Sports writer takes a gamble on self-publishing and wins big.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Matt says that to come up with a book idea of your own, ask all your friends and acquaintances to join your personal email list. Then, ask them questions similar to the following; What problems have I helped friends, family and coworkers with? What are your biggest accomplishments in life? What do you pay money to learn?

Fun Fact

There are now over one million books self-published in the US every year. With so many books hitting the virtual shelves of stores like Amazon it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Which is why most sales go to only a small percentage of the books published.

Notes from Chris

Episode 955
Matt Rudnitsky was working as a writer and editor for a sports blog when he first became interested in gambling. He began placing a few bets as a way of making his favorite sporting events more exciting. He never took it too seriously and lived by the old mantra of “never gamble more than you are willing to lose.”

As a writer himself, Matt was shocked to notice there was very little useful content out there on gambling. Nothing that encouraged people to make informed decisions about how to bet. Most of the information was of low quality, and typically written to promote online gambling websites.

Matt was keen to learn more, and not from someone who had a chance to win big at his expense. That meant scouring Twitter and online message boards for winning advice. After months of research, he decided to put his money to the test.

He took one hundred dollars, gifted to him by his grandma for his birthday, and started to play! As he gained more knowledge and experience, he managed to turn one hundred dollars into ten thousand over the course of two years.

Then, he got cocky! He forgot what he learned and became reckless. Within two months, he had lost it all and was back to zero … let this be a reminder to gamble responsibly, which for many of us means not at all.

With his bankroll bruised and broken, Matt realized something else. He hadn’t been following any real system … in fact he’d actually gotten lucky. He’d been playing for table stakes without earning a seat at the table. It was a crushing blow, but, instead of giving up he decided to double down. But not on gambling, on something else entirely.

He thought about his experience over the last two years, the highs and the lows. When recounting the story to friends they all found it highly entertaining. So, he decided to write a book. It would be part memoir, part education, and all fun. In it, he’d chronicle how he’d won big and lost it all, and what he learned along the way so readers wouldn’t make the same mistakes. Sort of like a self-help book dedicated to gamblers.

For a couple of months he chipped away at the book and, in October 2014, Matt published his tell-all as a 114-page ebook on Amazon.

Two months later, Matt received a royalty check for $1,150.06 and was absolutely shocked. He celebrated back in Prague by drinking too much Pilsner at the bar. Worth it! With that success, his life was never the same. He felt like a real, bonafide writer.

Over the next year, his book earned $6,000 and, within three years he’d netted $14,000 in totally passive profits and sold thousands of copies. Totally by accident!

Which, since inception in 2017 have netted him over six figures in revenue with an average of $5,000 per month.

The only downside is that, like gambling itself, the results are mixed. Sometimes Matt will have big wins in the form of very profitable months, other times, huge losses in the form of no revenue at all.

He’s working to solve this problem by creating an online course outlining his whole process. His hope is that it will bring more consistency to his earnings.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

WEB HOSTING @ $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for many websites. It's cheap, flexible, and offers support 24-7.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Distill your book idea into a catchy ‘hook’ and test it on your audience. Find a few places your ideal audience hangs out online and post it there, too. Repeat until one of your ideas strikes an emotional chord."
—Matt Rudnitsky #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try ShipStation for 60 Days FREE!

Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by ShipStation, the #1 choice of online sellers. 📦

To get a 30-day trial AND an additional month free, click the microphone at the top of their page and enter the word HUSTLE.
Get it Here

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau

Hawaiian Native Teaches Virtual Ukulele Lessons

What It’s About

Ukulele player strums up a lucrative career outsourcing himself around the world.

[podcast_details]

Words of Wisdom

Ukulele-playing is far too competitive in Hawaii, but it clearly works elsewhere. What else is like that? Stroopwaffles in Holland, or flannel shirts in Seattle … wherever there is a surplus of something (or some provider of talent), you might be better off taking that thing or that talent elsewhere.

Fun Fact

The ukulele has long historical origins, with the first one made in 1879. While it was first made in Portugal, the ukulele has found its way into Hawaiian culture and has become an important part of its music—its name translates roughly to ‘jumping flea’.

Notes from Chris

Episode 938

When he was thirteen, Hawaiian native Andrew Molina fell in love with the ukulele. After his first lesson, he realized just how much he loved the feel and the sound of the instrument. From then on, he started telling himself that he would practice hard so that he could travel the world and perform.

Throughout his years in high school, Andrew would work at his craft.

He would play a couple of songs at malls but found that he wasn’t making as much progress as he hoped. As he had grown up admiring and then imitating some of the famous ukulele players, Andrew realized that he didn’t have any particular style he could call his own. This made him so insecure that he quit playing in his last year of high school—the very same instrument that he had fallen in love with just a couple of years ago.

But Andrew knew there was something amiss from his life. He wasn’t interested in the typical path where he would go to college and then get a regular job, just like everyone else. The thought of finding a different direction spurred him to go on.

The first step that he took was to record his own album. This was in 2012, and Andrew had just left high school. The CD would act as a business card, albeit an expensive one, and would be a way for him to get introduced to potential clients for gigs. Fortunately for Andrew, his father was supportive and funded the $8,000 it cost to record the album using the money he had set aside for him to go to college. The next year, the album was released.

As Andrew had predicted, the album did eventually help him land his first gig. A restaurant reached out and asked him to play. This was when he knew he could say he played the ukulele professionally since he would actually be getting paid. While his task was only to play background music, Andrew used this as a springboard into bigger events, such as festivals in Hawaii and other local gigs. He soon had four gigs a week lined up for him.

While Andrew had made some headway, he wasn’t satisfied just playing background music. He wanted to play in front of an audience and connect with them. He reached out to some friends, who helped put together a mini-tour for him, where he got to travel to California, Oregon, and Washington. Although this first tour wasn’t very profitable, his goal was to build up a following. Desire and perseverance kept him going even though it was difficult, with many people telling him his dream was unrealistic.

It didn’t help that Hawaii was the birthplace of the ukulele. Few people in the islands were particularly interested in the instrument since it was so common. To get around this hurdle, Andrew continued to plan tours outside Hawaii, traveling in the mainland United States, then to Europe and Asia as well. He would play at a different place each night and hold ukulele workshops during the day.

Fast forward to 2018, and Andrew has been featured on the cover of the UK’s Ukulele magazine. All ten subscribers loved seeing him there! Although income is sporadic, a three-week tour can now bring in $7,500—a rate he can live off of, as long as he tours on a consistent basis. He also teaches virtual lessons by Skype to aspiring ukulele players wherever they are.

 

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Andrew Molina Ukulele: If you’re interested in learning more about this musical side hustle, head on over to Andrew’s website!
  • WordPress: Andrew used WordPress to set up his site for Andrew Molina Ukulele, and here you can learn how to install your own WordPress site in 5 minutes

 

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️ Learn More

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!
Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Find your passion in life no matter what it is, and don’t let others discourage you. It’s your journey, not theirs."
—Andrew Molina #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳 Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!


To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau